Taxi Supply and Demand Research

Keith Prince: Is the Mayor aware that the Taxi Supply and Demand Research carried out by TfL has taken so long to publish that it is now out of date?

The Mayor: In 2016, Transport for London (TfL) commissioned an external consultant, Steer Davies Gleave, to carry out a study of supply and demand in London’s taxi and private hire sectors. The study was carried out by means of passenger focus groups and surveys, as well as taxi and private hire driver diary surveys to assess wait times, market sizes, passenger usage and the impact of apps given the advent of app technology in both sectors. A number of reports were produced, the last of which was provided to TfL in October 2017.
The study has been used in two reviews of taxi fares and tariffs and in work exploring use of different modes and journey patterns. It has been published by TfL following requests from taxi trade representatives.

ZEC Cost

David Kurten: In the Economic Integrated Impact Assessment carried out in 2014, a new ZEC Taxi was assumed to cost £40,000 and the Jacobs Report said there is a risk, even with mitigation, of an exit of drivers and vehicles from the market. With a new ZEC Taxi actually costing a whopping £65,000 how many drivers does the Mayor think will exit the market now?

The Mayor: The zero emission capable requirement for taxis came into force on 1 January 2018 and only applies to vehicles that are licensed for the first time in London. The number of London licensed taxi drivers has been falling since 2013 and this could be due to a number of reasons which are dependant on an individual’s personal circumstances. It is impossible to predict the number of taxi drivers there will be in the future, or the reason for an individual choosing not to continue working as a taxi driver. Please refer to my response to Mayor’s Question 2019/6172 for further details on the work that TfL is undertaking to promote being a taxi driver as an attractive career option.
One of my key priorities as Mayor is to improve London’s air quality. Taxis are a significant contributor to poor air quality and it is to the benefit of everyone in London, including taxi drivers, that the taxi trade is taking action to reduce emissions and leading the way in adopting zero emission capable vehicles. Transport for London (TfL) has seen a positive response to the taxi delicensing scheme, which I recently increased to £42m to support the taxi trade through their transition to becoming a fully ZEC fleet.
The London Electric Vehicle Company is the first to bring a ZEC taxi to market in London and we hope that a second, fully electric, taxi will be available soon.

Pre-Booked and Ply-for-Hire Definition

David Kurten: Do you accept that TfL-TPH licenced operators, vehicles and drivers using apps which calculate a fare by time and distance rather than calculating the fare in advance are not ‘pre-booked’ but are actually ‘ply-for-hire’, and should be regulated as taxis rather than as private hire vehicles?

The Mayor: I consider that this is an oversimplification. As illustrated by the High Court’s judgment of 7 February 2019 (see Mayor's Question 2019/4090), whether a vehicle is plying for hire depends on the particular circumstances of individual cases.
The Department for Transport-commissioned Taxi and Private Hire Task and Finish Group report, published in September 2018, called on Government to introduce statutory definitions of “plying for hire” and “pre-booked” services to provide more certainty for licensees in such situations – something that Transport for London has also called for. It is disappointing that Government decided not to take this forward and I urge Government to think again.

Knowledge of London (2)

David Kurten: Of the 3082 applicants on pre-stage 3 (Blue Book runs) how many are still actively studying The Knowledge and how doTfL know?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is currently engaging with all pre-stage 3applicants to determine how many applicants are still actively studying The Knowledge. As this is a manual process which involves contacting each individual applicant, either by phone or in writing, it will take some time. TfL is aiming to complete the exercise this spring and I have asked that you are provided with this information once it has been completed.